Risks of Facial Detection and Government Leave a comment

When George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, perhaps he was around 40 years premature with his predictions of omnipresent government surveillance. Modern surveillance devices combined with an enthusiastic Chinese government have started transforming some aspects of this fictional novel into reality. Although this new technology is impressive, it stirs up concerns over matters of privacy and civil liberties. The question is not regarding what governments could do, but what they could not do with this information, and that is terrifying.    

Facial Detection & Recognition

Advanced facial detection and recognition features allow for real-time analysis of video streams. Devices are capable of processing up to 30,000 images per minute, that’s 2 million an hour! They can identify over 10 attributes including gender, accessories, facial hair and motions with over 99% accuracy. Additionally, these devices can identify and recognize 14 body feature points for a complete overview and increased accuracy. Feature extraction, analysis and comparison draws from a database of tens of millions of individuals. These may all sound beneficial for law enforcement and crime prevention however, it also leaves millions of citizens at risk of a tyrannical government and cyber security.

Traffic Monitoring

Smart traffic monitoring provides detailed information about vehicles in the area by labeling them with attributes like license plate number, brand, model, color and more. A reverse image search can also be performed on pedestrians and vehicles for rapid identification and personal history. This means that regardless of whether you’re on-foot or in a vehicle, you can constantly be tracked and monitored traveling through locations where these cameras are installed.  

Crowd Analysis

Crows analysis is a large-scale platform for retrieving and determining crowd statistics. These devices are capable of deep learning and are able to recognize patterns. This is primarily marketed to prevent areas from becoming overcrowded but could also be used to identify protests or gathering organizations. Crowd analytics, in conjunction with facial recognition, allows for immediate identification of an individual even in crowded locations.  

Intelligent Sales

These devices, and the analytics they provide, produce a powerful advertising platform tool that can be used to target audiences according to demographics. This information is used for digital marketing, sales follow-ups and customer movement statistics. Further, it requires no proactive user interaction, meaning they can retrieve your information without you doing a thing. With increased integration and development, there’s no telling who could gain access to your information or what it could be used for.

Wrap Up

This type of invasive surveillance is not restricted to China; in the U.S., the Ring video doorbell company partnered with over 400 local law enforcement agencies, granting them potential access to private footage. A Washington Post article entitled “Doorbell-camera firm Ring has partnered with 400 police forces, extending surveillance concerns” detail the agreement and possible concerns.

This is not to say that surveillance systems are bad, traditional camera systems are great for securing homes and businesses; it is government involvement in surveillance that generates concern. 2MCCTV offers a wide variety of high-quality surveillance equipment at an amazing price. Log on or give us a call at 1-877-926-2288 today, we have a skilled team that would love to help you out with all of your security needs.

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